CEMENT

Portland, blended and masonry cement (cement) are construction materials that, when mixed with water, serve as the binder in concrete and most mortars. Cement contributes all of concrete’s compressional strength, despite only comprising about 13 percent of its content by weight. Cements are made from a material called clinker, which is finely ground into a powder and mixed with a small amount of gypsum and potentially supplementary cementitious materials to make cement. Clinker is produced from a precise combination of calcareous, aluminous, ferrous and siliceous materials, which are transformed through pyroprocessing of the requisite materials in a rotary kiln. Production and consumption In 2022, production of portland (including blended) and masonry cement in the United States, excluding Puerto Rico, was estimated to be 95 Mt, a slight increase in quantity from 93 Mt in 2021. Production in 2022 was 4 percent lower than the record of 99.3 Mt set in 2005 (Fig. 1). Total world cement production in 2022 was estimated to be about 4.1 Gt, a decrease from 4.4 Gt in 2021. China (2,100 Mt), India (370 Mt), Vietnam (120 Mt), the United States (95 Mt) and Turkey (85 Mt) were the leading producers in 2022. The United States manufactured about 2 percent of cement produced worldwide. Domestic cement consumption in 2022, as measured by sales to final customers, was estimated to have increased by about 3 percent to 112 Mt from 109 Mt in 2021 but was 12 percent lower than the 2005 record consumption of 127.9 Mt. The difference between consumption and domestic production in 2022 was met, in part, by a 20 percent increase in imports. Over the past 10 years, imports have increased from 7.1 Mt in 2012 to 26.6 Mt in 2022, but imports in 2022 were still well below the record of 35.9 Mt set in 2006. The leading cement-consuming states continued to be Texas, California and Florida, in descending order by tonnage. The major end uses for cement in the United States are, in descending order by estimated market share, readymixed concrete, concrete product manufacturers, contractors and other customer types (such as building material dealers, government, mining, oil well drilling, waste stabilization and(or) unspecified uses). Figure 1 U.S. clinker production, cement production and cement consumption, 1960–2022. Foreign trade According to the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. imports of cement and clinker, including Puerto Rico, in 2022 were 26.6 Mt, an increase of 20 percent from 22.2 Mt in 2021. In 2022, Turkey (36 percent), Canada (18 percent), Mexico (10 percent), Greece (9 percent) and Vietnam (9 percent) supplied the majority of U.S. cement imports, with the remainder coming from several other countries. Exports of cement were 906 kt, a decrease of 6 percent compared with 961 kt in 2021. Canada (85 percent), the Bahamas (5 percent) and Mexico (4 percent) received the majority of U.S. cement exports, with the remainder going to several other countries and localities. Prices The average mill net value (price) of cement depends on application, quality, quantity purchased, source and type, and therefore encompasses a wide range of prices. During 2022, the overall estimated value of sales increased to a record-high $14.6 billion ($130/t). In recent years, increased prices have been partially attributed to increased costs of production. Environmental issues Large quantities of raw materials (mainly carbonate rocks, especially limestone) and fuels are burned at high temperatures to make clinker, resulting in emissions of large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) and potentially significant emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, mercury and some other metals, volatile organic carbon compounds and particulates. Increasingly, these emissions are being stringently regulated. The cement industry is one of the leading industrial emitters of CO2, an important greenhouse gas. Outlook The increase in apparent consumption of cement in 2022 resulted from continued economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The passage of the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November 2021 was projected to support increased cement consumption over the next five years. In 2022, regulators implemented new measures designed to aid industry decarbonization efforts, including green procurement strategies and research investments. Following widespread acceptance of portlandlimestone cement (PLC) blended cement by various authorities, several cement plants announced their transition to PLC (Type IL). However, cement industry growth continued to be constrained by increased costs for energy, material and service inputs; labor and production shortages; and ongoing supply chain disruptions. Imports are likely to continue to increase as cement manufacturers augment their cement supply to counteract reduced domestic production capacity resulting from kilns being idled owing to environmental concerns. In 2022, upgrades at a cement plant in Alabama were completed and an upgrade of a cement plant in Indiana progressed toward its expected completion date in early 2023. Cement plant closures were announced at cement plants in California and New York. References are available from the author.

CEMENT

Authored by:
A.K. Hatfield

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From sessions to strategy: Revealing long-term and emerging innovation trends in data analytics, intelligent systems and automation

Mining education gets federal boost as industry faces workforce crunch

Critical minerals management on the federal seabed

To view the past issues of the UCA magazine you must be a member of SME/UCA.

BROMINE

CHROMIUM

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